Patent trolls may have found a way to make everyone hate them even more

Although patent trolls are already one of the least liked groups in the United States, they may have found a way to make themselves even more loathsome in the eyes of the public by doubling as government lobbyists. Politico reports that Intellectual Ventures, one of America’s largest patent-assertion entities, is investing in lobbying help to protect its interests on Capitol Hill by pushing back against legislation designed to curb patent trolls’ ability to extract rents from other companies. Unnamed sources also tell Politico that “several patent-assertion entities are trying to create their own advocacy group to give them a larger voice in Washington, although its prospects are unclear.” “Patent trolls” is an informal term for firms whose sole business is acquiring patents and using them to sue other companies even though they don’t actually produce any products based on the patented technology.